Grantville police chief quits post

by Clay Neely

On Friday, Jordan was suspended upon allegations of several text messages that were allegedly sent by Jordan to Grantville police officers that contained derogatory language – specifically the N-word, according to Grantville Mayor Jim Sells.

“When we approached the chief in regards to these allegations, he did not deny them and accepted some culpability,” Sells said. “Following this revelation, he was immediately placed on suspension.”

Calls to Jordan from The Newnan Times-Herald for comment were not returned.

The contents of the text messages were sent by an ex-Grantville Police officer to an Atlanta-based media outlet, Sells said. Contents of the text messages have not been disclosed at this time, and Sells said he did not have a copy.

In his resignation letter, Jordan expressed his appreciation for the citizens of Grantville for giving him the opportunity to serve them for the past three years as investigator, lieutenant and ultimately as chief of police.

“My associations I have made with the city employees will not be forgotten,” Jordan said in his letter. “They are like family to me.”

Grantville City Council was originally slated to discuss the reasons of the suspension and review its options in regards to Jordan during a closed session Monday.

However, since Jordan resigned on Sunday, the matter will not be taken up since he is no longer an official city employee.

“The language he used was absolutely unacceptable – especially for someone serving in a supervisory position,” Sells said.

While Councilman Johnny Cooks agrees, he is less than satisfied with the resignation of Jordan, calling it “unacceptable.”

“Frankly, I’m not satisfied with a resignation,” said Cooks. “A resignation, in my opinion, means you are no longer a city employee and thereby we are no longer obligated to investigate any further the details regarding the situation.”

Cooks maintains that the controversy over Jordan’s trip to Arizona last September has very little to do with the current situation involving Jordan’s job.

“We’ve had more than our fair share of unethical behavior in this town. But they allow people to keep resigning, which means that investigations never happen,” said Cooks.

“So, if someone breaks the law, and then decides to just ‘move on,’ that’s okay? We keep allowing these men to resign and it then it doesn’t go on their record so as a result, it’s a perpetual cycle,” Cooks said. “It’s unbelievable.”

In regards to Jordan’s resigning, Cooks feels that the most shocking part of the entire affair is that only one officer wound up reporting the language that was allegedly used. “To me, it verifies that there are underlying issues in our police department,” Cooks said. “If someone decides that they’re going to complicity work for someone like that, it speaks volumes.”